In September 2017 my original list “30 Facts and Rumours about the Real Kit Marlowe” appeared on adoseofdavidmitchell run by my lovely Twitter friend and huge comedy fan @JazzyJaney. A visit to this excellent website is well worthwhile as it is full of comedy-related articles, photos and many extras. and I am honoured to be one of its writers. My grateful thanks to @JazzyJaney.
The original 30 facts have since been expanded to 50, which you can read below.
My 50 Facts on William Shakespeare is also viewable.
Christopher (Kit) Marlowe
50 Facts, Rumours and Speculations on his Life and Literary Achievements
Christopher (Kit) Marlowe was born in Canterbury to shoemaker John Marlowe and his wife Katherine, their second child and eldest son.
He was baptised as Christofer on 26th February 1564 at the church of St George the Martyr, opposite the house thought to be the Marlowes’ home, located on the corner of St George’s Street and St George’s Lane.
It is likely he was born in the preceding few days, though his exact date of birth is unknown. It was customary then for babies to be baptised soon after birth as infant mortality rates were high.
His parents married at St George the Martyr on 22nd May 1561.
John Marlowe was from the village of Ospringe (now part of Faversham), about 10 miles from Canterbury, and thought to have been born around 1536. He was educated at the Maison Dieu in Ospringe. The building has served as a hospital, monastery, hostel and retirement home but is a museum today, with its history dating back to the 13th century.
John is thought to have moved to Canterbury when he was about 20 years of age, either as an apprentice shoemaker or to take up an apprenticeship in Canterbury. He became a freeman of the city in April 1564, when Kit was two months old.
Katherine Marlowe (née Arthur), daughter of William Arthur, is believed to have grown up in Dover.
John and Katherine were married for 44 years, dying within two months of each other in 1605.
John passed away in early 1605 and was buried in the churchyard of St George the Martyr on 26th January. Katherine passed away on 18th March 1605 and was buried the next day in the churchyard of All Saints in Canterbury, despite her will, written the day before her death, stating that she wished to be buried near her husband.
The Marlowes had nine children and all but the youngest were baptised at St George the Martyr:
Mary
Christopher
Margaret
Boy (name unknown)
Jane
Thomas
Anne
Dorothy
Thomas
Short biographies of Kit’s eight siblings are below.
Mary – baptised on 21st May 1562 (the day before her parents’ first wedding anniversary), died at the age of six and was buried on 28th August 1568 in the St George the Martyr churchyard.
Margaret – baptised on 18th December 1565, married John Jordan on 15th June 1590, believed to have died in 1642.
Boy (name unknown) – baptised on 31st October 1568, buried in the churchyard on 5th November 1568. His birth was about two months after the death of Mary and does raise the question of whether his was a premature birth, possibly due to the trauma his mother was undergoing having lost her eldest child.
Jane – baptised on 20th August 1569, married John Moore on 22nd April 1582 at St Andrew’s, Canterbury, and is thought to have passed away in January 1583 at the age of 13. It is speculated that she died in childbirth but this is not known for certain.
Thomas – baptised on 26th July 1570, buried on 7th August 1570 in the churchyard of St George the Martyr.
Anne – baptised on 14th July 1571, married John Cranford on 10th June 1593 at St Mary Breadman, Canterbury, buried on 7th December 1652 (aged 81) in the churchyard of All Saints, Canterbury, where her mother was buried.
Dorothy – baptised on 18th October 1573, married Thomas Gradell on 30th June 1594 at St Mary Breadman, Canterbury, died after 1625.
Thomas – baptised on 8th April 1576 in St Andrew’s, Canterbury. There are no further details of him, though it is believed that, like his big brother Christofer, he attended The King’s School in Canterbury. It is not known how long he lived but as he was not mentioned in his mother’s will, there is speculation that he died before 1605.
Kit grew up surrounded by younger sisters. There was a difference of 12 years between him and his youngest brother Thomas, so it is unlikely the boys were very close, especially as Kit set off for Cambridge University in December 1580 when Thomas was only four.
The Tudor era heralded the start of free schools – petty schools for young children, who could progress to grammar schools around the age of seven. These schools taught Latin grammar, hence their name, but education was not compulsory in the 16th century.
It is likely Kit attended both types of school, and would have received an excellent grounding in Latin, in which he became proficient. However, there is also a theory that his father paid for him to attend The King’s School, perhaps affording the fees in part by supplying shoes to the teaching staff – the Headmaster and Lower Master.
At the age of 14 Kit gained a scholarship to Canterbury’s King’s School. There has been speculation that his scholarship was provided either by the school itself or by Sir Roger Manwood, a senior judge and philanthropist, also from Kent. On Sir Roger’s death in 1592, Kit wrote an elegy in Latin to him.
The King’s School is considered the oldest extant in England, perhaps in the world, dating back to the 6th century, though the school was re-founded by Henry VIII following his dissolution of the monasteries which began in 1536.
As a pupil at the King’s School, Kit is said to have sung in the choir of nearby Canterbury Cathedral. He would also have been required to speak in Latin, even in the playground. The school day started at 6 or 7 a.m. and continued till 5 p.m. over six days a week, with homework after this, and harsh discipline. Even though he lived fairly close to the school, it is almost certain that Kit was a boarder.
In 1580 Kit gained The Matthew Parker Scholarship enabling him to further his studies at Corpus Christi College (at the time called St Bene’t’s – an abbreviation of St Benedict’s), Cambridge University, where he gained his BA in 1584 and his MA in 1587.
This scholarship was inaugurated by Matthew Parker, the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 till his death in 1575, and intended for boys from the King’s School, with the stipulation that candidates must be able to sing a tune, sight-read music and write verse. It was granted to those intending to enter the protestant priesthood but as Kit certainly didn’t fulfil this, it could not have been a binding requirement.
The only known genuine extant sample of Kit’s writing is his 1585 signature, on the will of former Canterbury neighbour Katherine Benchkin, below his father’s and alongside those of his uncle Thomas Arthur and his brother-in-law John Moore, widower of Kit’s sister Jane.
The handwritten and unpublished extract (known as the Collier Leaf) from “Massacre at Paris” is unlikely to be Kit’s as it has not been proved authentic and could be the work of a forger.
Kit is believed to have been recruited as a spy for the government of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth I, while still at Cambridge. In fact, his long absences from his college nearly resulted in his being denied his MA, even though he had completed all work and studies for this degree. However, a letter to the college masters, written by members of the Privy Council, explained that he had been working “on matters for the benefit of the country”. As a result, Kit was granted his MA.
Records, still extant at Cambridge University, reveal that after his lengthy absences in his post-graduate years, Kit returned and spent lavishly on food and drink in The Buttery, an unaffordable expense on just his scholarship income.
While at Cambridge Kit translated Ovid’s “Amores” from Latin into English. These were later published under the name “Ovid’s Elegies”.
It seems Kit was an outstanding student, fluent in Latin and with a knowledge of other European languages, including Ancient Greek, although all well-educated young men of the time would have had similar capabilities.
On leaving Cambridge with his MA in 1587, Kit appears to have continued to lead a double life – as a very successful playwright and as a part-time spy for Queen Elizabeth’s government. There is no written evidence to support the latter, but it is widely believed that he spent some of his time engaged in such shady activities and this may have provided him with enough spare time to write as well.
Kit is said to have liked to wear fine clothes and, once he was earning money, would choose velvets so was often elaborately dressed. However, there is doubt cast on this. In the Elizabethan era a dress code existed which, depending on wealth and status, dictated the type and even colours of clothing each class of person would be permitted to wear.
In 1952 a portrait of an ornately dressed young man was found during refurbishments at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. It was renovated and is considered to be Christopher Marlowe, though there is no definite evidence.
While the portrait gives no indication of the name of either the sitter or the artist, there are Latin inscriptions in the top left-hand corner which hint at the subject being Kit himself:
“Anno dni aetatis svae 21 1585” (“Aged 21 in the year 1585”)
“Quod me nutrit me destruit” (“That which nourishes me destroys me”) which is said to have been Kit’s motto, though unclear whether he coined this, it is a concept used in his plays. However, one famous phrase which is attributed to Marlowe is “The face that launched a thousand ships” (from his play Dr Faustus).
Kit was a poet, playwright and translator, as well as a leading exponent of blank verse in iambic pentameter and is said to have influenced his contemporary William Shakespeare and revolutionised Tudor theatre.
Kit’s works include the poems “The Passionate Shepherd to his Love” and “Hero and Leander”, his translations “Ovid’s Elegies” and “Lucan’s First Book of the Civil War” (known as “Pharsalia”) and his plays, which were all performed in his lifetime, “Dido, Queen of Carthage”, “Tamburlaine the Great”, “Tamburlaine Part II”, “The Jew of Malta”, “Doctor Faustus”, “Edward II” and “Massacre at Paris”.
There are other plays and poems which he is thought to have written but no proof of authorship exists and so more Marlowe Mysteries are added to the others.
The leading actor in the original performances of “Tamburlaine the Great”, “Tamburlaine Part II”, “Doctor Faustus” and “The Jew of Malta” was Edward Alleyn, a tall man and imposing actor whose theatrical abilities enhanced the strong, over-reaching characters Marlowe had created.
All but one of Marlowe’s plays were performed at The Rose Theatre, owned by Philip Henslowe. The exception is “Edward II” which was staged at The Theatre, with Richard Burbage in the lead role. Philip Henslowe kept an accounts book which he also used as a diary. This is still extant and gives information on the plays performed at The Rose, including the writers, popularity with audiences and the takings.
As a result of his writing prowess, Kit was given the epitaph “The Muses’ Darling” by one of his contemporary dramatists, George Peele, while Ben Jonson referred to “Marlowe’s mighty line”. Three centuries later Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote of Marlowe, “If Shakespeare is the dazzling sun of this mighty period, Marlowe is certainly the morning Star”.
It is believed that a secret club (nicknamed School of Night) was formed which attracted the interest of Tudor freethinkers Henry Percy (9th Earl of Northumberland), Walter Raleigh, Thomas Hariot and Christopher Marlowe. They are said to have met at Syon House, Brentford in Middlesex – now in the west of London – to discuss the arts and sciences but there is no proof that this club existed.
On 30th May 1593, while at a “safe house” in Deptford – then in Kent, today in South London – Kit is said to have been murdered following an argument with Ingram Frizer over a matter of money, either an unpaid debt or the payment of a meal bill (the reckoning, as it was known in the Elizabethan era). However, there is continuing dispute as to whether he did die, or his death was faked.
Kit was said to have been buried in an unmarked grave in the nearby churchyard of St Nicholas in Deptford. Today there is a memorial stone placed in the wall of the churchyard which claims he was buried there and includes a quote from “Doctor Faustus”:
“Near this spot lie the mortal remains of Christopher Marlowe who met his untimely death in Deptford on 30th May 1593
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight”
At the time of his alleged murder, Marlowe was on bail, having been arrested on 20th May 1593 for the crime of atheism; if found guilty his punishment could have led to execution. However, a condition of his bail required him to report to a court official daily.
The Marlovian Theory contends that his murder never occurred, and he was sent into exile for his protection. Various reasons are given for this conclusion, including the suggestion that he wrote Shakespeare’s plays post-1593. However, there is no definite evidence to prove the Marlovian Theory, although there are some plausible ideas surrounding it.
In 2016 Oxford University scholars concluded that all three parts of “Henry VI” had been co-written by William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe (probably in 1592) and now both their names appear on copies of The Oxford University Press publication. However, some academics dispute this, claiming that Marlowe had no hand in the writing of any part of this play.
The house where Kit is believed to have been born (and lived during his early life), as well as the church where he was baptised, stood for centuries but were both flattened by a German bomb in 1942. However, the church clock tower escaped and still stands today, with a blue plaque dedicated to Kit. On the site of the Marlowes’ home opposite the church, is the Canterbury branch of Fenwicks, and the Marlowe Society is in discussion with the department store’s owners regarding a Christopher Marlowe memorial.
Modern-day Canterbury has not forgotten its most famous writer. In the city, the Marlowe Theatre is a venue for various theatrical productions, while the late-Victorian statue (sculpted in bronze by Edward Onslow Ford), symbolising the Muse of Poetry, is dedicated to Christopher Marlowe and his writing skills, with a more modern sculpture awaiting funding and commissioning. The King’s School has remembered him, naming one of their houses after him, and the town planners have noted his fame with Marlowe Road and Marlowe Avenue, not to mention Tamburlaine Court and Marlowe Court. In Poet’s Corner in London’s Westminster Abbey, Kit is remembered with a stained-glass window, commissioned by The Marlowe Society.
To the best of my knowledge the above points are correct but please accept my apologies for any inaccuracies. I am indebted to a variety of sources, including the Marlowe Society’s excellent website, which gives so much information on Kit’s life and works, and any errors in the above are entirely from my misunderstanding. Therefore, for fuller details on Christopher Marlowe, I would recommend visiting: http://www.marlowe-society.org/
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